Justice Studies invites faculty, students, staff, and the public to join us for an evening with Maggie Jackson, a dedicated healthcare professional from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Snowbird community, who serves as Senior Executive Assistant at the Cherokee Indian Hospital Authority and co-founder/chair of the Qualla Boundary Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) initiative. Her personal experiences and community ties have fueled her advocacy for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and survivors of domestic violence, from her co-founding of the We Are Resilient podcast, which amplifies awareness of the MMIP crisis through survivor stories and community-driven dialogue to her collaboration with the Appalachian Justice Research Center on the design of an innovative domestic violence community safety tool. 

This discussion is designed to raise awareness about the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and to honor the lives impacted by this ongoing injustice. We will explore how stories, data, and lived experiences reveal the historical and systemic factors that have contributed to the disproportionately high rates of violence against Indigenous People. The presentation also aims to empower communities, allies, and institutions to take meaningful action, whether through advocacy, education, policy change, or support of Indigenous-led efforts.

Joined by Discussant Michelle Brown, Sociology and Co-Director of the AJRC and Lisa King, English and Associate Director of Native American and Indigenous Studies

Food and drinks will be served. Supported by the Haines-Morris Endowment, the Appalachian Justice Research Center, the Denbo Center for Humanities & the Arts, the Native American and Indigenous Studies Seminar, and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.